1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to stabilizer and retarder apparatus for free fall weapons for delaying the fall of the weapon to the target after its release from an attacking aircraft and resulting in a relatively low impact force when the weapon strikes the target.
2. Background of the Invention
A feature of the stabilizer and retarder apparatus is that it has utility on many types of free fall weapons and can be utilized without the requirement of extensive modification to existing weapons launching or carrying racks since the fin members conform to the same diameter as the body diameter when in their folded position. Utilization of relatively small fins connected by a flexible material results in a reduction in the size and weight of the weapon which, in turn, results in a stabilizer-retarder apparatus that is small in size and inexpensive to fabricate.
Demand in past years for more accurate bomb and missile delivery against ground targets from high speed aircraft has made it necessary that the delivering aircraft operate at low altitudes when attacking surface target. A major drawback with low level delivery is that the attacking aircraft must be flown at speeds and altitudes that place the aircraft in a position to be extremely vulnerable to surface weapons. An additional negative factor is that the aircraft may be damaged by the explosion and blast effects of the bombs which it has dropped. Further, the bombs may ricochet off the surface of the earth missing the target or, because of the high speed delivery, structural damage to the bomb may result which could affect its explosion characteristics.
Prior art attempts to overcome problems of high speed, low level aircraft bomb delivery have been many and varied. One approach was to attach a mechanism that would release a small drag type parachute to deploy after release of the bomb from the aircraft. These systems have had the inherent disadvantage of the necessity for relatively long parachute rises increasing the possibility that adjacent bomb chutes would become entangled with each other when there was a simultaneous release of more than one bomb. Another approach has been the use of metallic tail fins folded or hinged in various configurations to deploy whenever the bomb is released. These structures usually were collapsible and attached to the tail portion of the bomb or missile. Once released from the aircraft the force of the air flowing past the free falling weapon deployed the fins. Bombs of this structural arrangement have been inherently heavy, necessarily complex in structure and expensive to manufacture because of the complex mechanical structures necessary for reliable stabilizer fin deployment under all types of environmental conditions.
The present unique stabilizer/retarder apparatus for use with bombs or missiles overcomes the disadvantages of prior devices used to enable bomb delivery at high speed by providing a small, simple lightweight stabilizer retarder mechanism that is capable of either a high or low drag characteristic. The stabilizer retarder control apparatus allows the pilot to choose the drag desired at the time of weapon launching, thus permitting free fall of the weapon tailored to approach conditions and the type of target being attacked.